技术、信息与国家能力：来自哥伦比亚非法采矿的实验证据

摘要

Illegal mining has negative social, environmental, and fiscal impacts on host countries. Monitoring technologies can help curb illegal activities by providing new information or the threat that the information is widely accessible. I used a technology based on machine learning and satellite imagery to detect illegal mining. Subsequently, I randomly disclosed the technology and possible mine locations to government agents. I find that illegal mining is reduced in the disclosed locations and surrounding areas in treated municipalities. These results illustrate the benefits of new technologies for building state capacity.